Former Ben & Jerry's chair sues Unilever for defamation

Anuradha Mittal, the former chair of the independent board of Ben & Jerry's, has filed a defamation lawsuit against Unilever PLC and its recently independent unit, The Magnum Ice Cream Company N.V.. The legal action follows Mittal's removal from her post in December and highlights ongoing tensions regarding the social and political stances of the brand's leadership.

The complaint was filed on Thursday in a federal court in Oakland, California, located in the United States. In the filing, Mittal claims that both Unilever and the Magnum unit orchestrated a campaign intended to vilify, denigrate, and intimidate her. She asserts that these actions were a direct response to her public support for Palestinian rights and her calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, which she believes rankled the corporate defendants.

Mittal’s tenure at Ben & Jerry's was marked by the brand's vocal stance on various social justice issues, a hallmark of the company since its founding. However, the lawsuit suggests that her personal advocacy became a point of contention with Unilever, the parent company that recently restructured its ice cream business. The legal proceedings in California will now examine the allegations of a coordinated effort to silence or discredit Mittal following her ousting from the board.